2027: Oluremi Tinubu, Defence Minister Warn Youths ‘Don’t Become Politicians’ Sacrificial Lambs’

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), have warned Nigerian youths against allowing politicians and criminal elements to manipulate them into violence as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The duo, who spoke separately at the National Christian Youth Security Summit and Thanksgiving in Abuja, urged young Nigerians to reject political violence, drug abuse, extremism, criminality and other activities capable of jeopardising their future and the security of the country.

The summit, organised by the National Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN), is holding from September 3 to 5 at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, under the theme, “Empowered for Leadership, Service and Nation Building.”

Tinubu, represented by the executive secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Rt. Rev. Stephen Tunde Adegbite, warned youths against becoming “sacrificial lambs” for politicians during the forthcoming election season.

She urged them to channel their energy towards prayer, peaceful democratic participation and nation building rather than allowing themselves to be recruited for political violence.

“We are meeting at a very crucial time in the history of our great nation, the period when we are moving towards another election, and it should be a period that none of you will be used as a sacrificial lamb.

“We don’t want any politician to use you and waste your life. All we want from you is to pray for Nigeria. All we want from you is to continue to pray for Mr President and all political appointees, all our governors, all our senators, all our House of Assembly members and all our House of Representatives members, so that Nigeria will be a better place,” she said.

The First Lady also called for greater cooperation between Christian and Muslim youths, saying religious and ethnic differences must not be exploited to create division and violence.

According to her, both Christianity and Islam are religions of peace and their adherents must work together to secure the country.

“As the Muslim and the Christian in Nigeria, we must work together. We are brothers, we are sisters, and we must see ourselves as one. It is when you have peace that you can talk of progress,” she said.

She questioned how meaningful nation building could take place in an atmosphere of rancour, animosity, acrimony and killings, insisting that violence could not be justified in the name of religion.

“How can you build a nation with rancour, with animosity, with acrimony, with killings, in the name of which religion? Not for Christianity and not for Islam. The two religions are religions of peace, and we must ensure peace everywhere that we go,” Tinubu said.

On her commitment to young Nigerians, the First Lady said she had prioritised their welfare and would continue to advocate for initiatives capable of improving their lives.

She highlighted some interventions by the Tinubu administration, including mobility support across the six geopolitical zones and educational assistance for Nigerians whose parents could not afford university education.

She said more interventions would be implemented, while urging youths to remain supportive of efforts to build a better country.

Tinubu assured the youths that their concerns would continue to receive attention from government, stressing that the administration remained committed to ensuring that their voices were heard.

Similarly, the Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), warned that the vulnerability of young Nigerians to manipulation, criminal recruitment, drug abuse and violent extremism constituted a major national security concern.

Musa, represented by the special adviser on Security and Intelligence to the Minister of Defence, Musa Likita, said youth empowerment should be treated as a national security strategy.

He argued that an educated, skilled and economically empowered young person was less vulnerable to manipulation by criminal and extremist groups.

“Leadership without empowerment is fragile. Empowerment without responsibility can be dangerous, and service without patriotism cannot produce sustainable nation building,” he said.